cancan

[ kan-kan ]

/ ˈkænˌkæn /

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noun

a lively high kicking dance that came into vogue about 1830 in Paris and after 1844 was used as an exhibition dance.

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Origin of cancan

1840–50; <French, repetitive compound (based on can) said to be nursery variant of canard duck; see canard

Words nearby cancan

Canaveral, Canberra, can buoy, Canby, canc., cancan, cancel, cancel culture, canceled check, cancellate, cancellation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cancan in a sentence

As we were all decidedly gay, somebody proposed dancing the cancan—the real thing.
San-Cravate; or, The Messengers; Little Streams|Charles Paul de Kock
One young woman startles the crowd by announcing that she will dance the cancan for half a dollar.
Danger! A True History of a Great City's Wiles and Temptations|William Howe
The music starts up just then, and she determines to do the cancan and risk the collection afterward.
Danger! A True History of a Great City's Wiles and Temptations|William Howe
Conducted by the Chevalier de Valois, a most able leader of an orchestra of this kind, the opening of the cancan was magnificent.
An Old Maid|Honore de Balzac

As yet, the two little women had ventured upon nothing more than permissible cancan steps.
Paul and His Dog, v.1 (Novels of Paul de Kock Volume XIII)|Charles Paul de Kock

British Dictionary definitions for cancan

cancan

/ (ˈkænˌkæn) /

noun

a high-kicking dance performed by a female chorus, originating in the music halls of 19th-century Paris

Word Origin for cancan

C19: from French, of uncertain origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012